


Speed Limit

by letmeweaveyouatale



Category: The Mindy Project
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-19
Updated: 2015-10-21
Packaged: 2018-03-31 08:47:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 9,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3971551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letmeweaveyouatale/pseuds/letmeweaveyouatale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'll do my best without breaking the limit."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rubbish

**Author's Note:**

> Not too sure on this. It had no planning at all, just thought about the story and began to write!  
> PLEASE tell me what you think! 
> 
> As always, comments and criticism are welcome.  
> Enjoy!  
> letmeweaveyouatale

"C'mon, we're gonna be late if you don't hurry up! We were meant to leave ten minutes ago."

Danny said all this while hitting the palms of his hands against his dark jeans, and checking the time on the giant hanging clock in their bedroom. He knew that they'd be at least twenty minutes late, so he made sure to call Colin beforehand to tell him this.  
He made his way over to the bathroom en-suite door, and knocked on it with more force than he intended.

"What is taking you so long? Are you okay?"

He knew nothing bad had happened, as he could hear movement and shuffling, but he honestly was in a rush to get there and head back as soon as possible due to a C Section he had arranged, and they needed to leave almost fifteen minutes ago. After maybe ten seconds, he finally heard the long awaited answer to his question.

"I'll be out in a minute! Just finishing my make up!" 

He somehow knew that it would be more than a minute, so he decided to sit back down on the bed, and text Colin to say that they might be there later than already planned. 

Nearly five minutes had passed and there was still no sign of her. Danny, being ever the impatient man, walked over towards the door again. Just as he was about to knock, the door was pulled from his reach, and Mindy was finally ready to go. 

"It's about time! What were you doing in there?"  
He asked his question half heartily, because his eye was caught by something sticking out from the small rubbish bin, just beside the shower. 

"Hey, what's that?"

His action didn't go unnoticed though, as Mindy quickly turned to meet his view. She swifty answered his question, with an answer that seemed almost too rehearsed. 

"Oh, its nothing!"  
She laughed nervously, but that didn't seem to get a response from Danny.

"I swear you notice every bit of rubbish in this house! It's your OCD, it gets the better of you sometimes!" She took his cheek in her hand, mainly to move his view from the rubbish bin. She meet with his eyes, and smiled at him.

"I'll empty the trash later, promise."  
She kissed him on the cheek and lead him, by hand, out from the bathroom, and walked with him into their living room.

"Shouldn't we get going? Colin will be wondering where we are!"  
She smirked when she said this, knowing full well that she was the one that had held them up for the past twenty minutes.

"Yes, let's go. You got the gift?" 

"Yep! All wrapped and ready to go! I hope Caleb likes it."  
She held up a large box, decorated in red and blue wrapping paper.

"He's a kid, he'll probably end up playing with the box more than the toy." 

 

With that, they left the apartment, and headed towards the car. 

"Danny, if you step on it we'll get there quicker."  
Mindy, like Danny was impatient. But she wanted to get there quickly because, as she said days before; "the cake is always nicer at kids parties!".

"I'll do my best without breaking the limit Min."


	2. It Only Took Seconds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Green light, go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!  
> letmeweaveyouatale

They were sat behind a red light for what felt like forever, but what turned out to be just under a minute. Their car was twelfth, maybe thirteenth in line from the start. Traffic that day a nightmare, and the weather certainly didn't help.  
It had been drizzling all day with light to heavy rain, and it was forecast for a mild storm later on that night. Mindy hated this weather. She craved sunlight and clear skies. Danny on the other hand didn't really mind. As long as it wasn't windy, he was good. 

"Ugh, I told you we would be late. What were you doing in that bathroom anyway?"  
Danny's annoyance at the traffic was clear from his tone of voice at which he asked this question. He didn't mean to sound annoyed, he just hated waiting on people. 

"Stalker much? I don't need to tell you everything I do. And anyway, I told you before. I was doing my make up. This-" She said as she pointed to her face, "This takes time my friend."  
As soon as he asked her what she was up to earlier, she knew she had to either make something up, or tell him the truth. But sitting in traffic with your annoyed boyfriend of eleven months isn't the best way to break life altering news. 

"I'm not a stakler Min, I was only asking! You're the one who wanted to get to this party early, just so you could dibs the biggest slice of cake!" 

"How dare you! You know how greedy little kids are. And besides, what's wrong with wanting some cake? Huh Danny?"  
That came out as more hostile than she intended. She didn't know what was wrong with her today. 

He was about to question her on her uncharacteristic mood, when the lights finally turned green. Being over twenty minutes late, and now tenth in line, Danny decided to increase his speed, but only slightly. He was determined to get to this party, just so he could make his exit to get to this C Section.  
The patient in question, Ms. Elizabeth Ryan, was a young teenager who's boyfriend had broken up with her as soon as she told him the news. Truth be told, Danny felt a little sorry for her. She was alone in this, and she was scared. When he told Mindy her story, she 'advised' him to make her go on that Teen Mom show. Of course, her answer would have to be fame related.

The wet roads, and Danny's increasing speed caused the car to move faster than both Danny and Mindy would have liked. 

They made the green light, but at a cost.

As soon as Danny had made his left turn onto the freeway, a black car from out of nowhere, came smashing into the passenger side of the car.  
Their car was pushed, with great force, into a minivan that was driving beside them, which led to Danny's car being turned over onto its upside twice. 

It only took a matter of seconds for the crash to occur, but it would change many moments of their lives. 

The minvan, black car, and the car Danny was driving all lay on the road.  
The minivan was on it's side.  
The black car lay in a nearby ditch, smoke bellowing from the bonnet.  
Danny and Mindy's car was turned upside, with the roof face down on the cold, hard, wet ground. 

The street which was once busy with moving cars, and walking pedestrians on their phones came to a standstill, as they tried to make sense of what had just happened.


	3. You Know That Feeling?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She could smell smoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy  
> letmeweaveyouatale

Her head ached from hitting off the car door, and her face felt cold from the blood running down by her ear. Her hand bled a bright, crimson shade of red that dripped down onto her bruised knees. Her half open eyes caught the sight of shards of glass indented into her left forearm. 

The car was on its upside, the roof laying on the ground.  
She couldn't remember how she got into this position. One of uncertainty, and pain.  
She could hear the worried on-lookers call for help. She could faintly hear the sound of an ambulance in the distance. She could her the sound of her breathing becoming more erratic, more panicky. She could feel a stabbing like pain in her head. She could feel her seatbelt dig into her blood stained shoulder.

She could smell smoke.

With all of her might, she turned her stiff, aching neck to look at the limp body beside of her. Immediately, she knew that he wasn't breathing. She couldn't see his chest move up and down at a steady pace. She couldn't hear his breathing. She tried to move her hand to his wrist to take his pulse, but she couldn't move it. It was stuck. 

She could smell smoke.

She tried so hard to call out for help, to get the attention of one of those on-lookers. She repeatedly screamed at the top of her voice for help, but no one came to her. 

She could smell smoke. 

She needed to be heard. She needed to get out of this car. She needed to get help.  
She needed Danny.

________________________________________________

You know that feeling you get when you're drifting off to sleep but you can still hear your surroundings? Like the ticking of your watch, or the sound of the cars driving around outside?  
That's what she felt like.

You know that feeling you get when you wake up from a really long nap? That feeling of not really knowing where you are, or not knowing what time of day it is?  
That's what she felt like.

You know that feeling you get when your alarm goes off in the morning, and you know you have to get up? But you feel so comfortable that you just want to shut your eyes and go back to sleep?  
That's what she felt like. 

 

She could smell smoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter coming soon!


	4. Where Is He?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Any ID on female yet?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally meant to be updated in three days, but I couldn't wait!  
> Enjoy!  
> letmeweaveyouatale

Her heavy eyelids fluttered opened as if on command. A bright light traced over her left eye, then her right.  
The smell of smoke was still fresh in her nose. A heavy cough overcame her, but her ability to cough was blocked by an oxygen mask that hung around her mouth.

When she had her eyes closed, she felt no pain at all. It was just like she was asleep, safe, at home in her bed. It was normal.  
But the second her eyes opened, every single ounce of pain she felt came flooding back to her. The stabbing pain in her head, arm, and stomach hit her like a ton of bricks. Her neck felt even more stiff as before, but that was due to the brace she was now wearing that was tapped around her head and shoulders.  
Her breathing quickly became erratic and heavy, and she felt herself becoming extremely light headed.

She wondered how she was now wearing this neck brace, but that thought went away when she saw a man looking down towards her. He began to kneel at her shoulder, and placed his cold, but reassuring hand on her torn, blood soaked dress sleeve. He had a kind face, and spoke with what sounded like an Irish accent. She noticed that his face was slightly smoke stained.  
Her breathing calmed down, but only just. The man noticed the panic set into her eyes, and reassured her that she would be okay. 

"Hey, it's okay, try calm down. You've been in a car accident. We're just waiting on the air ambulance helicopter to arrive, then you'll be moved, okay?" 

She tried to answer the stranger, who she now realised was a paramedic, to tell him that she understood, but every time she tried, nothing but air came out. It was like she had lost all ability to speak. It was like she forgotten every word she was taught as a child. Nothing came out.  
The paramedic noticed her trouble at trying to speak, and, once again, reassured her that he understood what she was trying to say. 

He got up to leave, but she somehow managed to muster up the strength to move her arm to catch his hand. He looked at her kindly, and resumed his kneeling position by her shoulders. She held his hand tightly.  
She did not want to be alone. She was scared, frightened, worried, and on borderline tears. She needed someone with her.  
She needed Danny.

Danny.

The last thing she could remember before she woke up, was looking over at Danny's unconscious body in the car. She remembered how he wasn't breathing, and that she was unable to move her hand to check his pulse.  
A quick glance down at her bandaged left wrist confirmed that it was broken. She remembered calling out for help, but nobody came to her aid. She could remember her vision becoming more dark and cloudy, and how her eyes fell down. She remembered how the pain quickly vanished.  
She remembered the smell of smoke.  
Once again, panic and fear overcame her. 

Where was Danny? Was he okay? Why was she awaiting an ambulance and he wasn't?  
She had so may questions to ask, but no words to speak.

The radio that the paramedic had strapped to his vest signaled an incoming alert. 

"Eoin, arrival time on air ambulances is three minutes. Female first in A, male after in B. Too dangerous to move him on land. Any name on her yet?"

"Copy. Not yet, ID must have been damaged in fire. Female is ready to go. Status on male? You got a name?"

"Severe head and neck trauma, possible broken femur. Moving him to St. Mary's Hospital. Surgeons are waiting.  
Yeah I found his wallet. It's a Daniel Castellano."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates soon!


	5. I Need To Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You need to keep this on, okay? It's helping you to breath."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too sure on this chapter?  
> But, do enjoy!  
> letmeweaveyouatale

"Yeah. It's a Daniel Castellano." 

She tightened her grip on the paramedics hand with a light squeeze the second she heard his name being mentioned. He seemed to notice the action, because his gaze was moved from his radio pack, to that of Mindy's wide eyes and panicked looking face. 

"You know him?"

Still being unable to talk, she managed to nod her head slightly, and she blinked her eyes, releasing a tear that rolled down her bruised cheek.  
It puzzled her as to why the paramedic ask that question. Of course she knew him, they were travelling in the same car. She thought it strange.

Eoin turned his attention back to his radio, to inform his partner, who she now knew was called David, that Mindy knew who Danny was. 

She felt as though she had enough of the silent routine, she needed to talk to Eoin, to tell him that Danny was her boyfriend. She needed to know how badly injured he was.  
She started off by moving her uninjured hand to her face. She took hold of the oxygen mask, which was the only thing keeping her from passing out, and started to lift it from her mouth. Eoin noticed what she was doing, and put his hand over hers, slowly lowering the mask back onto her face.  
He gave her a kind, but strict look. 

"Look, I know you're in a lot of pain right now, and finding out that your rescuer isn't in the best shape is difficult to hear, but you need to keep this on, okay? It's helping you breath normally after the crash. You were exposed to a lot of smoke and fire."

With the mask safely back on her face, Mindy gave him a puzzled look.  
She remembered smelling smoke earlier on, but she doesn't remember anything about a fire.  
Eoin caught onto the look, so he proceeded to tell her that she had to be pulled from the burning car, and that she got out with seconds to go. He said that she was nearly out of the car by the time he got there too, but that it was lucky the paramedics and fire crew arrived when they did, because the car almost entirely blew up once she was out. 

Nearly out of the car? That's impossible. She feel unconscious in the car seat, that she remembers vividly. How did she manage to get herself half way out of the car by herself, whilst being unconscious? 

Wait, didn't he say that Danny rescued her? 

Her internal questions and theory's were cut short due to the arrival of two, huge loud helicopters. They landed on a nearby piece of land, with four fellow paramedics and doctors running towards the crash scene.  
They spilt into two groups, one moving over to Mindy, the other presumably to wherever Danny was. 

The team of doctors were less the twenty seconds away, but before the medical team could reach Mindy's position, which consisted of her strapped onto a stretcher that was laying on the ground, she became extremely irritated and lightheaded.  
She began to shake uncontrollably, sweat beads both forming and falling down her slightly blood stained forehead. Even with the oxygen mask on, she starting gasping for air. Her skin had turned a worrying shade of white, and her eyelids began to fall onto her now bloodshot eyes.  
Eoin was quick to respond, removing the oxygen mask form her mouth, and signalling for immediate assistance.  
Within seconds, the team of paramedics and doctors were running to her side, as they took over from Eoin, who had begun CPR only seconds ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates soon!


	6. Her Father's Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's awake and speaking, but Danny is no where to he seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!  
> letmeweaveyouatale

For the second time, she had woken up in excessive pain. Her head ached and swelled, her hands and feet stung because of her burns, and her stomach was hurting due to bruising. 

As she opened her eyes, she was met by a variety of different sounds, lights and feelings. The sound of a heart monitor filled the small, partially light room. The bright shine from the sun that escaped from the small side window hit her eyes like a flashlight. The noise of her worried father's words to an unknown person on the phone filtered into the room from the hallway. 

All she really wanted was to close her eyes and be shut away from the world. She didn't want to answer any questions, or have to explain to anyone why they were travelling so fast. All she wanted to do was sleep, and forget about the accident. But unfortunately, every time she closed her eyes and desperately called out for sleeps embrace, she was met by thoughts of the accident. She put herself back into her last memory, which was her talking to Eoin about how she was found. She could vaguely recall the sight of a helicopter, and Eoin telling her about Danny's condition.

At the internal mention of Danny's name, her eyes jumped open and searched the room for any clues on his whereabouts. She knew that she was in a hospital bed, so she thought that Danny must be here too. She could still hear her father's voice outside her room. She would just ask him about Danny when he can back into the room. Yeah, she could wait. Surely, he'd be back in soon. She would just pass the time by keeping her mind busy. 

Once again, she put herself back into her memories of the accident.  
When she saw the helicopter, relief overtook her. She began to think that she and Danny would be okay. They'd be going to hospital soon to get treatment. But what she didn't expect was for her heart to suddenly speed up. She remembers feeling it race in her chest, how she became extremely light headed and weak. She remembered how the tight grip she had on the kind paramedics hand loosened. She could almost feel her body convulse again like it did before.  
At the scene, she remembered her eyes falling into darkness. Next thing she knew, she was here. Lying in this bed, attached to God knows how many monitors, and wondering where the hell Danny was.

She quickly glanced at the clock, the only other sound in the room. 3:24pm. 

After almost ten minutes of driving herself crazy, thinking about the crash and Danny, her father entered the room. He was clearly sleep deprived, as evident from the dark circles under his eyes. He was wearing a baggy sweater and jeans, something Mindy had never seen him wear before.  
Her eyes were glued to him as he moved from door to chair, but her father didn't look up from the tilled floor once. He simply kept his head down, and placed his tired body into the chair and the foot of the bed. He raised his hand to his head and rubbed it worryingly.  
She wondered what the matter was.

Moments later, she knew he wasn't going to raise his eye line, so she decided to get his attention.  
For the first time, she was able to make some form of sound. She half grunted, half coughed to get her father's attention. And it worked.  
His head immediately moved upon hearing the unlikely noise. He leaped out from the chair and placed his arms around Mindy's fragile body. In her ear, Mindy could hear the sound of sniffling.

After a minute of hugging, her father shifted his body weight off hers, and took her hand in his. The contrast of the cold feeling that came from hers, and the warmth radiating from his was clear, but they both felt it irrelevant. His eyes were still watery, and she felt hers becoming more heavy and moist. She didn't want to cry, but she felt she needed to. 

"Danny"  
Mindy stuttered out his name, like it was the first thing she had ever said. It was almost inaudible, but her father was able to pick up on it.  
He didn't speak, instead giving her a small smile, one that she wasn't really sure how to interpret. She looked at him as if to say "C'mon Dad, tell me everything, cause I'm not gonna stop until you do." Once again, the message was received loud and clear. 

"Right now, he's doing fine. He's a fighter. Just like you." Her father caressed her cheek with his free hand, wiping away the falling tears that ran down from her eyes with his thumb.

"His condition hasn't declined in the past two days, so that's a good sign. He should -" Her father was interrupted from his sentence by the widening of his daughters eyes and surprise on her face. Two days? How long had she been unconscious for? 

"Oh, sweetheart. It's okay. The doctors told me that you would have woken up much sooner." He was anxious to tell her just how long it had been since the crash. 

"Darling, you've been like this for almost a week."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay in updates, been super busy this past week!   
> More updates soon! 
> 
> (Oh, remember the bathroom scene in chapter one? Yeah, me too...)


	7. Hand Holding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She'll be back to normal soon"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short update today, but I still hope you enjoy it!  
> letmeweaveyouatale

A week.  
Seven days.  
God knows how many hours and minutes. 

She couldn't even begin to fathom the idea of being unconscious for an entire week. Just how serious was the crash to leave her that badly hurt? How must her parents have felt, having to wait by her bedside worried sick? A week was such a long time to be waiting for news.  
As a doctor, she had seen new parents, wait anxiously by an incubator, watching as their premature baby fought for its life. She hated that part of her job. 

Her father clearly noticed the mixture of confusion and deep thought on his daughters face. He tried his best to calm her down, but she just kept getting more and more frustrated. Tears started forming in her eyes, and she was now gasping for breaths. He became worried, and frankly a little scared, when Mindy's breathing became even more shallow and less frequent.  
He quickly hit a bright red button above her bed with great force. He was told to use this if ever there was an emergency when a doctor or nurse wasn't present.  
He took hold of his daughters shaking hands, and rested his other hand onto her trembling left shoulder. All he wanted to do was calm her down, to take away any pain she felt.  
Within seconds, a nurse came running into the room. Upon noticing Mindy awake and struggling to breath, she swiftly made her way to her, and placed an oxygen mask on her face. 

Her father moved away from the bed and his daughter, and took position near the door. He folded his arms but kept his eyes locked on Mindy.  
The nurse took notice of his scared face, so began to reassure him that she would be back to normal soon.

"Don't worry Mr.Lahiri, it was likely this was to happen." Which was true, many doctors told her friends and family not to stress her out too much when, or if she woke up.  
Her father couldn't help but feel responsible for this though. Had he not had told her the length at which she was unconscious for, she wouldn't be having difficulty breathing. 

After a couple of minutes had passed, Mindy's breathing returned to normal. The nurse told her to keep the oxygen mask on, and not to overdo it.  
With the nurse now vacated from the room, her father's eyes began to swell with tears. Mindy noticed straight away, so she extended her hand to his. He moved from his previous position, and took hold of her hand.  
They simply sat there in a comfortable silence, thankful for each others company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates soon!


	8. Three Days Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not the best I've written, but I still hope you guys enjoy it!   
> letmeweaveyouatale

Three days had passed since Mindy woke up from her coma. Even after that short period of time, where she was able to think about everything, and come to terms with the events that had transpired, she still couldn't believe that both she and Danny were so badly hurt. Crazy to think that one stupid mistake such as speeding, could make such a huge impact on her life. 

As the days went on, she was getting much stronger. She found herself feeling much better and healthier, and she was able to move around the hospital wing.   
Ever since she woke up, she had been met by worried relatives fussing over her, who were always making sure she was feeling okay. Sure, it would take some time for her to feel 100 percent better, but she was okay with waiting.  
Thankfully, she had been moved from ICU into a common wing of the hospital, where she was told she would be staying for a while, due to her high blood pressure and burns, but yeah, she was feeling better. 

Danny on the other hand, wasn't doing that much better. Yes, he was still unconscious, but he was responding to treatment much better that anticipated. Originally, he was in a different hospital upstate, but was moved to the same place as Mindy because he needed further surgery on his leg.   
Every chance Mindy got, she was down with him. She would only get around twenty minutes with him a day, but she sure as hell made sure those twenty minutes mattered. 

 

The first time she was allowed to visit him, Mindy was accompanied by her father. He was mainly there for emotional support, but he wanted to see how Danny was getting on. He really liked Danny, he admired the way he loved and cared for his only daughter. To him, Danny was a the kind of man he was happy to boast about to his friends and family back home.

Upon arrival at his private room door, Mindy and her father were told by the specialist that his face was burned pretty bad, and that he was heavily sedated.  
At the time, she felt extremely nervous walking through the door, accompanied by her fathers supportive grip on her hand. Once inside the surprisingly cold room, she was immediately met by the burn marks on his face. Looking down his limp body, she could see his torso move at a steady rate, accompanied by the bleeping of a machine. His leg was hanging outside the clean white sheet, and was plastered in a think, yellow bandage. Nearly every part of his body has some from of mark on it. His hands were covered in cuts, especially around his knuckles. A long red scar was traceable down his neck, and bruises were beginning to form on his forehead. He was in a bad way, but both Mindy and the doctors counted themselves lucky that he was alive.

Her visits usually played out the same way. She would wash her hands, and then proceed into the room. She would take Danny's hand in hers, and softly kiss the back of it. Sometimes, she would sit in complete silence for five minutes, maybe more. She would watch on as his chest rose and fell to a rhythmic pace. It brought comfort to her, knowing that he was breathing, and that he was still here. After she double checked his breathing rate, she would tell him about her day. Things like what time she woke up at, and how she has a crush on one of the hospital porters.  
"But don't worry sweetheart, you're the only man for me", she would say with tears forming in the corner of her eyes.   
She would quickly wipe them away, and go on to tell him about a rerun episode of Judge Judy she saw on the communal TV. 

But on this day, her third day being awake, she found that she wasn't the only person visiting her beloved boyfriends beside.

Like always, she washed her hands, and began to open the door. Just before she was going to start rambling on about a People magazine article she read, she saw the huddled figure of an old woman, cradling her sons hand, while mumbling a pray. 

"Annette?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates soon.


	9. Annette?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annette and Mindy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a filler chapter (again) mainly because ive been having writers block. But, I wanted to update it!   
> Sorry if its terrible! :(   
> letmeweaveyouatale

"Annette?" 

The fragile woman raised her head and looked into Mindy's eyes. They were full of tears and sadness, they were almost bloodshot, and they looked really tired. Tired, like Annette hadn't slept in days. Which was true.   
Annette was visiting her son everyday, but it was only today that it coincided with Mindy's impromptu visit. She would come see him, and simply talk to him. She would tell him how Richie was getting on, and how everyone at church was wishing him a speedy recovery. She told him that she started watching Ken Burns documentaries, and she would tell Danny all about them on her daily visits.   
But, really, the main thing she would do is pray. Pray to the God she hole heatedly believed in, pleading with him to save her son. 

"Oh, Mindy. I'm sorry, I'll get out of your way."  
Annette wiped the tears from her eyes, and began to move from her huddled position from her sons beside, when Mindy told her to stay put. 

"No, it's totally fine Annette. You stay here as long as you like."  
She gave his mother a small, kind smile.

"May I?"  
She asked, gesturing to a chair beside Annette. 

"Of course." 

The two women sat side by side in silence for a few moments, looking at the man with whom they were both connected by.   
Annette, the loving, loyal mother, who would fight tooth and nail for her children.   
Mindy, the caring, supportive girlfriend, who intended on spending the rest of her life with this man. 

The silence was broken by Annette's shaking voice.  
"I came to see you a while ago. When you were unconscious. My God, I've never seen you that quiet!"  
She gave a small laugh, and was looking towards Mindy, eyes once again filling up with tears. 

"I'm glad you're okay, Mindy." She placed her hand over Mindy's, reassuring her of the meaning of the sentence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Hopefully) updates soon!


	10. A Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You ready to go?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not entirely happy with how this turned out, but please let me know what you think!  
> Enjoy  
> letmeweaveyouatale

Six days had past since Mindy and Annette sat side by side at Danny's beside, hoping and praying for him to wake up soon. That's all they wanted. 

Mindy was now well enough to leave the ward and go home. Of course she was happy to leave. She had been there nearly a month, stuck in the one place watching, with only re-runs of TV shows to keep her company during the long days.  
But on the other hand, she didn't want to leave the hospital, mainly because, there, she was close to Danny. If anything went wrong, she would be by his side in a heartbeat, and she was able to visit him regularly. 

He was still in the coma, but thankfully had shown signs of improvement over the past week or two. A few days ago, the doctor told Mindy that the injuries Danny sustained to his neck and head were severe, and that the best option for his long term health would for him to be put into a medical induced coma. He also mentioned a few more minor things about his condition, but at that point Mindy had stopped listening, being overcome with worry and fear for Danny. 

Now being able to leave the hospital, Mindy had asked her father to collect her early that morning, mainly so she could go home and shower, and then come back later on in the day to visit Danny. Unfortunately, her father was working that morning, and was unable to do the task put to him by his daughter.  
Mindy knew that all of her other extended family had left the area, and her mother didn't drive.  
So, she called a person who was always there for her whenever she needed help, and in the times she definitely didn't need his assistance.  
Morgan.

Waiting patiently for ten minutes in the reception area, Mindy spotted Morgan looking around the room, in search for Mindy. He looked less like his usual self, he had a look of worry and angst on his face. This puzzled Mindy.  
Once Morgan had located her, he made the short walk from the lobby desk to her seat.  
Mindy began to rise from the chair, when she felt Morgan's arm around her waist, with the other one holding her underarm. She was grateful for the help. She still felt sore, but didn't tell the doctors, mainly not wanting to worry them.  
Once up out of her seat, she looked over at Morgan, who upon seeing her still slightly bruised face, carefully pulled her into a hug.  
It was a nice embrace, one that didn't feel staged or obliged on his part. He genuinely wanted to comfort her, to tell her in his own way that he was there for her.  
They stayed like that for a few seconds, and only broke apart at the sound of ambulance pulling up outside the main doors. 

"You ready to go?"  
Morgan asked quietly, yet comforting.  
With Mindy giving him a quick nod of her head, they left the building together, with Morgan's hand located on Mindy's underarm helping her walk, and the other clutching to her hospital bag.

Morgan had parked his car a short distance away from the entrance.  
After helping her into her seat, he placed her belongings onto the back seat, and walked around the car to the drivers seat.  
At the sound of the engine turning over, a surge of panic overcame Mindy, suddenly not being able to catch her breath, or control the way her legs were shaking. Morgan took notice of this, and immediately took the key out from the ignition, and started to help his friend calm down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates soon.


	11. This Isn't Your Fault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He was saving you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!  
> letmeweaveyouatale

Several minutes had passed before she had calmed down and her breathing returned to normal. She had suffered from a panic attack, but luckily both medical professionals knew exactly what to do in order to keep her calm. 

Nearly five minutes had passed before Mindy spoke.  
"What if he doesn't wake up?"  
It was almost inaudible, like she had whispered it too herself, rather than say it aloud to Morgan, who was sitting beside her in the drivers seat.  
His head shot up from his view of the blue carpet in the rental car, and moved to Mindy's face. 

"Hey, come here." Morgan grabbed Mindy and hugged her tightly. He could feel her chest rise and fall quickly, along with the sound of her catching her breath from crying.  
"Don't be thinking things like that, of course he's going to wake up." Morgan said these words to Mindy in order to reassure her, but a tiny fraction of his being knew that there was a small chance he wouldn't. He was injured pretty bad in the crash. But, like the many doctors who treated him, Morgan was sure that Danny would make a full recovery. 

"And stop feeling guilty for this, because everyone knows this isn't your fault. He went back to save you, just because -"  
But Morgan was directly cut off from speaking by Mindy's sudden movement out of his embrace.

"Wait a minute, saving me? Morgan, what are you talking about?" 

As the look of realisation dawned of Morgans face, Mindy once again put her mind back in time to the accident. She couldn't remember much, with is understandable, but one this she did remember was her talk with the kind, Irish paramedic, Eoin.  
Putting herself back into the scene of the conversation they had at the crash scene, she replayed the talk, like it was her favourite scene from a movie. It all came back to her so easy, she could almost quote it word perfect. 

She could remember Eoin saying something like "Finding out that your rescuer isn't in the best shape is difficult" or something very similar. 

And then it hit her.  
Danny was the one to rescue her.  
He was the person to risk his life for her, to save her.  
Danny put himself in further danger in order to make sure the woman he loved was safe. 

Like so many times before, Mindy was pulled away from her memories, and put back into the present day, this time by Morgan. 

"Doctor L, I'm so sorry. I thought you knew." Morgan quickly took a deep breath.  
"Doctor C was the person who pulled you from the car. The second he got you out, the car blew up. He feel backwards from the explosion. That's how he hit his head." 

While Morgan was telling her the story she didn't want to hear, but knew she needed to, Mindy's eyes became more and more wet from the tears, and her shaking also became more frequent. 

"So this is all my fault." 

Morgan's heart broke to hear her say these words. It wasn't true, of course this wasn't her fault. He was saving her life. 

"Don't be stupid, of course this isn't your fault Mindy. He was doing what he knew to be right." 

Part of her wanted to believe Morgan's words, but she couldn't bring herself to trust them. 

She could feel herself become more panicked, and made up an excuse for herself to leave the car. As grateful as she was to Morgan, she needed to be alone.

"I need some air." 

Mindy was about to leave the car, when Morgan touched on her arm. She turned to face him, and was met by his concerned face staring back at her.

"Hey, are you feeling okay? You look really pale." Morgan quickly took her pulse, which was a little too weak for his liking.  
"Okay, you wait here, I'm going to get a doctor." 

Just as Morgan was about to open his door, he heard a faint whisper of his name being called. This time, Morgan was met by the concerned face. 

"Morgan wait.  
I think I'm pregnant."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates soon!


	12. Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny finally starts to wake up, but a memory keeps pulling him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Hides because this is almost 2 months late and because it's kinda bad* 
> 
> Enjoy, and please let me know what you think!   
> letmeweaveyouatale

You know that feeling you get just as you're about to wake up from a good nights sleep? First, you begin to hear sounds, like the ticking of a clock, or the sound of a text message coming through on your phone. Next, your eyes start to adjust to the morning sunlight that's slowly breaking through the curtains across the room. Then, you start to feel your bed, and come to terms with your immediate surroundings.   
Yeah, I guess you could say that he experienced those things, except for him, the sound was the beeping of a heart monitor, and the light he saw was the doctors torch resting on his eyelids. He slowly came to terms with his surroundings, but didn't recognize them. Where he was resting, it didn't feel like his own bed, and he couldn't feel old candy wrappers at his feet, which of course, were left there by Mindy.  
Mindy.  
He couldn't feel her body next to his. He couldn't feel her arm wrapped around his torso, or feel her head resting on his shoulder. It felt odd, cold almost. He wanted to lift up his arm and move it to her side of, what he hoped, was his bed, but it was almost like his body was stuck down into one place. He tried to open his eyes to see what was happening, and figure out where he was, but that didn't happen either. He tired, really he did, but his eyes just wouldn't open. His eyelids where getting lighter yes, but they just weren't opening. This entire situation felt strange to him. All he wanted to do was open his eyes, and reach out to Mindy. He wondered where she was, what she was doing. He wondered why he was alone.  
Whilst trying to wince his eyes open, he kept getting distracted by the doctors light. That light, the swift movements of the bright, fast rays racing across his eyelids, it felt so very familiar. He vaguely remembers experiencing this same sensation on his eyes before; the fear of seeing a light race towards him, as if he was in competition with it. What could it have been? He managed to  narrow it down to two situations, two scenarios where this light played an important part in his life.  
First, the doctors torch. It was searching for a signal in his brain, trying to awake his senses, and bring his body and mind back into the room. Second, wait, what was the second? His mind had gone completely blank, he couldn't remember the second scenario. "Come on Danny, think. What was the second?" Again, after searching his brain for answers, he drew a blank. It just felt impossible. He knew he had to try and remember this memory, he would try anything.  
All of his urges were telling him to connect with the doctors light, but something inside of him was telling him to fight it, to put himself back into the second memory, the memory that was so very foggy and unclear. Just as his eyelids were getting lighter, and beginning to flutter open, he fought the urge and closed them back again. He needed to put himself back into that memory. The memory that for some reason, every being in his body was telling him to experience again.   
With his eyes closed, he feel back into the light, not the doctors light, that began to trace across his eyes again, but the light that he seems to think had a leading role in his being here. 


	13. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny finally remembers how, and why he is in hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, this is a super long chapter in the story. I wanted to make it like that because it's been so long since my last update, and once I started writing it I couldn't stop! 
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this chapter, it was fun to write.  
> Please leave me a comment if you enjoyed it, I honestly love reading them!
> 
> Enjoy  
> letmeweaveyouatale

_With his eyes closed, he feel back into the light, not the doctors light that began to trace across his eyes again, but the light that he seems to think had a leading role in his being here_.

* * *

 

It was like he was in a movie. An all-star blockbuster film that had a giant budget and phenomenal CGI effects. It would be the kind of movie that he loves to watch with a begrudged Mindy, who would only watch it with him if Michael Fassbender or Mark Ruffalo was the leading male.

The scene itself was horrific.

Cars were turned over on their side, with smoke and fire bellowing from the dented hoods and engines. Strangers were cautiously running towards the wreckage on their phones speaking to the emergency services.  
“Hello, yes ambulance please, oh and a fire brigade too. There’s been a horrible accident.”

He looked down at his hands, they were covered in bruises and cuts. He was wearing a hospital gown. Why was he wearing that? How did he get here? This was weird.  
Then, something clicked. The memory of waking up in a bright, spacious room came flooding back to him. The sense of the light tracing above his eyelids, and the sound of beeping machines. It all finally clicked. He was back in the memory he needed to remember in order to figure why he woke up in a hospital bed, alone and hurt.

He watched as the scene unfolded.

A minivan was on its side. He watched as a young woman fought her way out of the broken passenger window.  
A black car that was just out of his eye line was resting in a nearby ditch. Black smoke drifted out from the sheltered area, leading his tired eyes to a car he was certain he recognized. It was turned upside down, with the roof face down on the cold, hard wet ground.  
Worried strangers ran past him, some making their way over to the minivan to help the young woman. Others walked cautiously to the car in the ditch, but the majority were gathering around the upside down car.

With his doctor instincts kicking in, he lifted his foot to start making his way over to help people. Nothing. He couldn’t move his feet or legs. He was unable to move. Why couldn’t he move? Clearly, he was at this terrifying scene along with everyone else, so why couldn’t he help people? He thought this as extremely strange, but then again, re-evaluating this situation it stuck with him that he wasn’t _really_   there. I mean sure, he was there in spirit and memory, but he wasn’t there physically. I guess you could compare it to a ghost looking back on past memories, trying to make sense of where they went wrong.

Realizing that he unfortunately couldn’t help, he knew he was looking out for clues or reasons for his being in hospital. Had he been a passerby, who was injured helping that young woman? Or was he one of the men he saw trying to put out the ever growing fire from the black car that suffered from smoke inhalation or burns?

  
As if he were in a dream, the time frame of the scene jumped forward. Now he was standing nearer the car he recognized, but the crowd had dispersed. The ground around him was covered in glass and blood. Tonic water bottles and someone’s car keys lay next to his left foot.

Unlike before, he could hear the feel and hear things. He felt the cold rain hit against his neck, and travel down his back. He could hear the sound of speech coming from the other side of the car. Again, unlike before, Danny could move, finally. Directing his way of movement towards the voice, he now knew his reason for being here. He must have been in a car accident, and when he makes his way to the opposite side of the car, he’ll see his unconscious body lying there. At least now he knew, and he was okay with that; mainly because he knew that he was able to wake up after this and go on to live his life.

As he walked to the place where he expected to see his body on the ground, he found someone else. He found the one person he wished he would never have to see in that state.

He saw Mindy.

He looked on as she clutched the hand of the paramedic, who was trying to calm her down. He mentioned that an air ambulance crew was on their way to bring her to hospital. Danny didn’t want to think about how badly hurt she was, because he knew that air ambulances are used for critical cases only. Longing to be near her, he reached out his hand to hers, but like before, was suddenly unable to move. It was like she was in a protective bubble and no nobody could get to her, only the paramedic.

Anger was the first thing to hit him. He was angry because Mindy was in serious danger. Angry because he couldn’t reach out and hold her hand, or tell her that everything will be okay. Angry because this all could have been his fault.

Shock was the next thing to affect Danny. He was shocked at the vast amounts of blood on her arm and head. Shocked because it had finally dawned on him that the car behind him belonged to him, that the car keys and tonic water bottle were his possessions.

But if this was his car and his keys, where was he?

Danny’s attention was pulled back into present day, well present day for him anyway. He heard the radio that the paramedic had strapped to his vest go off, which was signaling an incoming alert.

Here, he heard the name of the man who was taking care of Mindy. Looking at Mindy on the wet ground, he listened to the message that followed very carefully.

" _Eoin, arrival time on air ambulances is three minutes. Female first in A, male after in B. Too dangerous to move him on land. Any name on her yet?"_

‘Could the male be me?’ Danny thought.

_"Copy. Not yet, ID must have been damaged in fire. Female is ready to go. Status on male? You got a name?"_

_"Severe head and neck trauma, possible broken femur. Moving him to St. Mary's Hospital. Surgeons are waiting_.

Looking down at his own body, he only now noticed the cast on his leg. He knew what was coming.

“ _Yeah I found his wallet. It's a Daniel Castellano_."

* * *

 

Trying to open your eyes after a deep sleep is tough, because all you really want to do is shut them again and go back to dreaming. You move your hand to your face to stop the sunlight affecting your sight. You stay silent for a while to avoid that morning voice sound.

But this time was different. Danny didn’t want to close his eyes again. He welcomed the light racing across his eyes. And he most defiantly didn’t want to keep quite.  
When he opened his eyes, he was met by a nurse performing routine blood tests. Turning to her, he said one sentence, asked one question.

“Where’s Mindy?”


	14. 16 Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny is awake and responsive, and trying to find out where Mindy is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think!  
> Enjoy  
> letmeweaveyouatale

 

_Where’s Mindy?”_

This was the first time he had been awake in 16 days. It was the first time he had spoken in 16 days. And it was also the first time that Mindy wasn’t at his bedside in 16 days. 

* * *

 

He had mumbled out that question, and the nurse didn’t seem to her him. To him, it felt like he shouted it, maybe he did in his mind. But, to her it was almost inaudible.

Wanting to ask the question again, he repeated the words, only to be cut out by a deep, smokers like cough. This was the noise that alerted the nurse. She looked up from her notes with a shocked expression. Though she was witnessing a patient having breathing difficulties while wearing an oxygen mask, she was relieved to see him finally awake and responsive, for she knew just how long he had been unconscious for. Giving him a light touch on his arm, she walked briskly out of Danny’s room and returned seconds later with a doctor. Danny briefly recognised him as the same doctor who shone that piercing bright light over his eyes.

“He’s just woken up, seems to be having breathing difficulties.” She stood aside as the doctor spoke to Danny.

“Hello Danny, I’m Doctor Hawkins. I’m just going to examine you if that’s okay?”

His cough got progressively worse, but thankfully Doctor Hawkins managed to get it under control within a few seconds. Fixing his oxygen and pain medication levels to the correct amounts, Dr Hawkins began to ask Danny questions about his condition.

"Well Danny, how are you feeling?"

Wanting to reply in words, but not wanting a repeat performance of what had just happened, Danny nodded his head in reply, gesturing that he was feeling okay.

“You’re not in any pain or discomfort? No blurred vision or head pain?” Dr Hawkins examined his eyes and head as he spoke, again shining the light across his pupils.

Again Danny replied using head movements. He honestly felt fine. No headaches or pain. He just felt his normal self.

“Well, that’s a good sign, a very good sign.” The doctor backed away from his bed and smiled at him. He then made his way over to the end of his bed and took his notes from the nurse.

 

* * *

 

A minute or so had gone by and neither his nurse nor doctor had spoken to him, only to themselves in a whispered tone. Danny really needed to know what was going on, so he carefully moved his hand up to his mask and began to remove it. Unlucky for him, he was stopped from completing the action by the nurse, who put her hand over his.

“Keep this on for now please, it is helping your breathing.”

Doctor Hawkins handed his notes back to the nurse and spoke to Danny.

“The last thing you probably remember is being in the accident, am I right?” He never really gave Danny a chance to answer his question.

“You arrived with a nasty leg and head injury. When we took you into theatre to operate, you began to bleed internally, and became tachycardia. We only thought it best to put you in an induced coma, which we hoped would have given you the best chance of survival. Turns out we were right!”

Before Danny was able to get a word in edgeways, the doctor’s pager went off. Both men sighed, leading Dr Hawkins to leave the nurse in charge for a short time.

“I’ll be back in to check on you in a while Danny, for now try and get some rest.” He didn’t want to rest, he felt like he’d been asleep for months. But, wanting to follow his orders, Danny rested his head onto the pillow, and could already feel himself drifting off to sleep.

Dr Hawkins turned his attention back to the nurse. “Nurse Fletcher, I need 15 minutes observations and a full blood count please. Oh, and get in contact with his mother. You know what she’s like. I’ll be back soon.” Dr Hawkins quickly made his exit from the room, staring down at his pager as he left.

Danny immediately woke up from his half slumber at the sound of his mother being mentioned. He looked directly at Nurse Fletcher, and she knew exactly what he was mentally asking her.

“Your mother will be delighted that you’re finally conscious. She was here every night, talking to you and praying. Nice lady.” Danny smiled at the thought of his mother being there for him. Thinking about his mother lead him to again think where Mindy was.

Nurse Fletcher began to speak again.

“Mindy is it?” he looked at her shocked.

“I heard you ask for her when you woke up. I’ve great hearing, I’m like a bat acutally. That reminds me, wait until I tell you about a story I heard about bats. Did you know that-” Nurse Fletcher quickly realised that Danny didn’t have the slightest interest in her story, and quickly moved onto finish her original train of thought. The way Nurse Fletcher went on tangents like that reminded him of how Mindy does that all the time when they’re trying to have an important conversations. He smiled at the thought.

“Anyway” Nurse Fletcher lightly chuckled. “She was injured too, not bad though." Nurse Fletcher quickly added upon noticing the worried look on his face. "You’re both very lucky.” Danny breathed a giant sigh of relief. She was safe. Thank God.

“She was out for almost a week I think, but the day she woke up she asked for you, like in a romantic drama movie, with Channing Tatum and Reese Witherspoon… sorry, I do that a lot.” He was amazed at how like Mindy she was. He was glad she was his nurse.

“She’ll be back later on, she just went home to get some things with her friend, Morgan I think? Cute guy too... I’ll make sure to call her right away to tell her the good news.” After finishing his bloods, which Danny didn't notice she was doing, and double checking his vitals, she left the room to call Annette and Mindy.

It was the first time since he woke up that he felt happy to be here. Mindy meant the world to him, so to now finally know that she was healthy and safe, he could rest easy.

Like before, he rested his head on the pillow and positioned his view so he could see the door perfectly. He wanted to see Mindy the second she arrived. He could feel himself drifting off to sleep, so he let it overtake him. But, he knew not to fall into too deep a slumber, because he wanted to wake up the second he heard her voice.


End file.
